February 27, 2008
Couple Gives $20-Million to Rebuild Homes on Gulf Coast
By Nicole Wallace
Leonard Riggio, chairman of the Barnes & Noble bookselling company, and his wife, Louise, have made a $20-million gift to build homes for low-income homeowners in New Orleans who have been unable to repair or rebuild after Hurricane Katrina. The donation is one of the largest to date for rebuilding on the Gulf Coast.
“When the hurricane hit and the levees broke, we just cried,” says Mr. Riggio. “We felt so badly for the people in the area. We felt compelled to help out.”
The couple made the gift through their family foundation, which has created a nonprofit development arm, Project Home Again, to oversee building. The organization expects to 120 to 150 houses.
Project Home Again broke ground Tuesday on its first project, a subdivision of 20 wind-resistant homes in the Gentilly neighborhood of the city
The homes will incorporate architectural elements from homes that have been taken down since the storm, and will take advantage of green-building techniques to make them energy-efficient and to reduce the need for heating and cooling.
In order to be eligible to receive one of the new homes, applicants must have been a resident in Gentilly two years before the storm and be willing to swap their uninhabitable home or former home site for the new house. The new homes will be awarded by lottery.
Project Home Again will provide winning families with a forgivable mortgage — there will be no monthly payments — and after five years, they would own the home free and clear. The organization will also assume any capital-gains taxes that result from homeowners swapping their old homes for the new ones.
The Riggios hope their gift might inspire other donors.
“If nothing else happens but we get to build 120 to 150 homes, we will have profoundly affected the lives of those families, and that is sufficient motivation for us,” says Mr. Riggio.
But, he says, if in addition to that, “we can demonstrate leadership and put forth a model for giving that others might follow, then the effect could be that other people will initiate similar gifts and result in even more homes being built.”
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How thrilling! My family lived in New Orleans – actually Kenner, Metarie and River Ridge – for a number of years, and I think the generous response of the Riggios (and others) to help rebuild homes, lives and hope for those who have suffered most is both heart warming and inspiring. “Let the TRULY good times roll!” Janice Chapin Buchanan
— janice buchanan Feb 28, 11:24 AM #
I really think it was great for that family to give/ I had family there also. God is good all the time. I like to thank you for doing that. I have a group here where we take donations and its called women surviving the storm. this group help with counsiling and what ever need but we also teach them how to survive. So if any one wants to help feel free. May God bless.
— alessa williams Mar 3, 09:14 PM #
This is encouraging, but what are the people of wealth and philanthropists who live in the Gulf Coast doing? Anecdotal evidence suggests that they have not responded by increasing gifts to storm-affected areas.
— Hal Merz Mar 4, 01:44 PM #
I know of a national non-profit who went down to the gulf the week following the disaster and has not left. They are committed to rebuilding 1000 homes and have already passed the halfway mark. I was able to go down and volunteer my efforts for a week. They housed and fed me, all I had to do was get there. Truly one of the best experiences of my life…I encourage you to share in the joy of rebuilding a families life. You can learn more about their program at www.rebuildingtogether.org
— Christina McKay Mar 4, 11:19 PM #